


Three's Company

by alfredvonkrolock



Category: Tuck Everlasting - Miller/Tysen/Shear & Federle
Genre: Cute rambling with my favorite OT3, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2016-08-01
Packaged: 2018-07-28 18:03:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7651027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alfredvonkrolock/pseuds/alfredvonkrolock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Me and my fellow Jesse/Winnie/Hugo shipper no-upper-limit-to-stupidity over on tumblr have a whole list of headcanons going. This is a collection of those headcanons, put forth into ficlets that all exist within the same universe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three's Company

**Author's Note:**

> It all started with a nature boy and a clumsy deputy. All things have to start somewhere, right?

People often tell you that you can only have one soul mate, and even then, you might not get to have them for yourself. However, Hugo Jackson somehow ended up with not _one_ , but _two_ other incredible people whom he could share the rest of his life with. And considering he drank from the same spring on his seventeenth birthday that Winnie did on hers (and Jesse before her), that life would last forever. 

The three of them together was a puzzling thing at first; no one really had a clue how they all became so close. It started with an awkward friendship between Hugo and Winnie, when the former had played a small hand in saving the girl from a dangerous man who wanted her family's wood. After all, how does a young man at the age of sixteen become close with an eleven year old girl? It's not exactly something their small town would have accepted fully. But things took a turn when Winnie officially introduced Hugo to her best friend, and fellow adventurer, Jesse Tuck. Sure Hugo noticed how attractive Jesse looked when they were all in the woods, but when there is a dead body in front of you, you really don't have the time to admire someone's beauty. 

But there, in the backyard of the Foster's home (where the sunlight seemed to pool the most), Hugo could see just how radiant Jesse really was. And from that moment, he was smitten. Yes, Hugo Jackson (who was already an odd enough creature) was attracted to another man. He couldn't say anything, for society forbade it, but he still planned to feast his eyes on the other male. Besides, one day when he would grow older, Hugo told himself he'd find a woman he loved and settle down with her. After all, he was attracted to both sexes, so his labor wouldn't be too hard to handle. 

However, things changed for Hugo one fair September afternoon in 1893. He was at the market, looking to buy some items for Constable Joe when he saw Jesse leaning against the brick wall of the church, eating an apple. His hands began to shake just from being in the same vicinity as the Tuck boy, and _honestly Hugo get your nerves together,_ he told himself. 

Hugo tried not to stare as he poked around at the tomatoes but he eventually locked eyes with Jesse. With a piercing gaze, the blonde boy raised the apple to his lips and took a slow bite, quirking an eyebrow at Hugo as he did. 

Hugo dropped the tomato he was holding, a small jolt of thrill shuddering through him. He cursed lightly under his breath, and bent to pick it up from the ground; when he stood back up, Jesse was gone. Disappointed, Hugo buried the now dirty vegetable beneath the others and prepared to pay the vendor. 

Carrying his paper bag of purchases, Hugo made his way back to the constable. But as he was walking down a lane that paralleled the wood, he heard a soft crunch behind him. Turning, he saw that there was no one there. Shrugging to himself he began to walk again, but when the noise was heard once more, he stopped in a nervous sweat. 

"Who's there?" He asked, his voice wavering with nervousness. There was a soft chuckle from above Hugo to his left, and more crunching and scraping. It took him a moment, but Jesse managed to jump from the tree he was in down onto the ground, beside Hugo. He grinned.

"Hey." 

Hugo blinked a few times, before finding his voice to actually answer the cute guy in front of him. "Oh uh, hey." 

"Are you okay? You seem nervous," Jesse asked, cocking his head. However, he kept a smirk on his face. 

"Yeah, I'm... fine. Really fine. Better than fine, actually! But I have to get these back to-"

"The constable?"

"Yeah. Him." 

Jesse chuckled, extending his arms out. Hugo stared at the gesture, confusion clouding his face. "I'm offering to carry them for you," Jesse said. 

" _Oh_. Well, that makes sense. Thank you, I think," Hugo replied as he handed Jesse his bags. 

"Let's walk through the wood."

"Wait, what?" Hugo stared at Jesse, even more confused. Why was he asking to go through the woods? "Why would we go and do that? More importantly, who would want to?"

"Relax, Hugo. It's a shortcut. You'll get to Constable Joe's about five minutes quicker. Believe me, I know these woods pretty well." 

"Well, I guess I can't really argue with a shortcut."

Jesse quirked an eyebrow again, and it sent another small shudder through Hugo. He remembered earlier how Jesse had looked biting into that apple and how- _oh God no_ , he said to himself. _I'll really need to go to church this Sunday for sure._ But even a minor thread of the thought breached his mind and he grew red in the face. It was a good thing the trees were shaded, or else Jesse might have noticed Hugo's blush. But unto Hugo's knowledge, Jesse did notice; and it made him smirk more. 

The two had walked in silence for about five minutes before Jesse stopped. He walked a little further to the right and disappeared behind the trunk of a large tree, leaving Hugo on the path by himself. From where he was at, he heard the sound of Jesse drinking something.

 _It's probably a spring,_ he thought. 

When Jesse came back around, he sat the bags down at his feet and plopped himself onto the forest floor. Looking up expectantly at Hugo, he gestured his head to the spot next to him. Unsure of himself, Hugo sat, not knowing how to long his legs. 

"Why are we sitting," he asked.

"Well," Jesse said. "I want to...." he trailed off for a moment, letting his gaze drop from Hugo's eyes to the floor. Quickly, however, he rose them again. "I wanted to talk to you about something." 

"Okay," Hugo replied. His heart was beating quicker by the second. What would he say? Would he call him out on his staring? Where was this going? 

"I really don't know how to put it, but..." Jesse licked his lips. "I see how you watch me when we're together, sometimes." 

Hugo's heart stopped. At least, that's how he felt. 

He could feel his face grow redder by the second, and he opened his mouth to say something, anything, back! But nothing came out. Jesse continued on. 

"And I wanted to tell you that I do see it and I'm not going to tell anyone about it. It's a natural feeling."

"Y-you don't k-know what I f-feel," Hugo managed to stutter out. "You're r-reading t-too far into t-things. I j-just..." he paused, trying to gather his nerves. "I just day dream a lot. And I sometimes end up staring at p-people." 

Jesse sighed, scooting closer to Hugo. He raised his hand to rest it on the other boy's shoulder, but Hugo flinched and Jesse stopped short, his face contouring into confusion and then shock.

"Did you think- did you think I was going to hit you?" 

Hugo turned away, trying to slow his heartbeat down. "Jesse, I need to go."

"No, we need to talk about this. Hugo, I would never raise a hand to you. Ever. You're my best friend, why would you think I'd do something like that?" 

"Because I know it's a sin, Jesse." Hugo didn't mean to say it, he really didn't; but the words just let themselves out. "I can't feel this way about other men."

"Because you think it's against... what, religion? It's not, it's human nature."

"And how would you know?" Hugo asked, frustration seeping into his voice. "How would you know what I go through? How do you know what it feels like to be living half of your life as a lie, knowing that if anyone found out that I enjoyed men as much as I enjoyed women, that I'd be... I'd be hurt! And attacked." He shook his head, standing. Jesse followed, knocking over the long forgotten fruit and vegetables on the ground. 

Without a word, Hugo started to walk away, tears threatening to expose themselves. Jesse watched him walk away for a moment, his own nerves eating away at him. Fighting against them, though, he jogged after Hugo and grabbed him by the shoulders. Spinning around, Hugo expected an attack. What he didn't expect was for Jesse Tuck to lean in and kiss him. 

There was nothing but the soft feeling of the blonde boy's lips against his own, but then there was a pressure and fire that seemed to seize them both. Here in the wood, with only the trees to lay witness to the baring of their souls, they kissed with a passion that would surely damn them even if it was a man and a woman.

When that fire became a small smolder, Hugo leaned back. He admired the other boy for a moment, before a smile creeped onto his face. His fears were quenched by their flames.

And so it came to pass that every day for the next year, Jesse and Hugo would meet beneath the tree marked with a "T" and share their innocent love for one another. 

On the very day of their first kiss, one year later, Jesse presented a bottle to Hugo. Months before, Jesse had confessed to Hugo the whole ordeal with his family and their ability to live forever. Now here he was, offering Hugo Jackson eternal life to spend with him. Now that he was seventeen, Hugo drank, changing his life forever. 


End file.
